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All Rise...

Mutual Appreciation is a comedy about nothing, but Appellate Judge James A. Stewart cautions that you won't find Jerry Seinfeld in it.

The Charge

"Long awkward pause is—maybe—I don't know how long it will
last. It's like a staring contest."

The Case

In Mutual Appreciation, that quote is about the
developing—maybe—relationship between Alan and Ellie, but it could
also describe the movie itself. It's already been hailed as
"naturalistic" elsewhere. At times, that seems to mean that
"um" is the most common word in the dialogue. Overall, it means that
filmmaker Andrew Bujalski's aim is to, um, capture the cadence of everyday life
among twentysomethings.

Bujalski's first film was Funny Ha Ha.
"People started to describe it to me as a film about awkwardness and
inarticulateness," Bujalski told Reverse Shot Online about the film. That
would describe Mutual Appreciation as well, since its young musician
protagonist is portrayed as a man who's unsure of himself. He's passive in
romance and nervous before performances; his hesitant speech patterns are an
indicator of, um, his inner anxieties. The movie doesn't follow Bujalski, in a
supporting best-friend role, as closely, but his character also shares the, um,
hesitant speech pattern.

Mutual Appreciation has been appreciated by the Newport International
Film Festival, which gave Bujalski a jury award for Best Screenplay, and the
Peniscola Comedy Film Festival, which gave Rachel Clift its Best Actress honor.
The movie started a barnstorming run of brief engagements in August 2006, but
chances are you didn't get a chance to catch it before its DVD release.

The story follows Alan (Justin Rice), a musician who arrives in New York
without his band. He's staying in the apartment of someone who's out of town
and, um, hanging out with bud Lawrence (Andrew Bujalski) and Lawrence's
girlfriend Ellie (Rachel Clift). Alan needs a drummer—fast—for an
upcoming gig. That problem's solved when he does a radio interview and finds out
that the host's brother Dennis (Kevin Micka) fits the bill.

Trouble is, Dennis comes with Sara (Seung-Min Lee), the overly amorous radio
host. When he goes with her to her apartment to talk, she's soon, um, on top of
him in a liplock. Sara's not the only one who's eyeing Alan, though, since Ellie
is developing a crush on her boyfriend's bud. When Lawrence, um, spends a
weekend out of town to attend his ex-girlfriend's wedding, Alan and Ellie have a
chance to explore their Mutual Appreciation.

What did I think? Well, um, I, er—uh. Let's start by saying that, when
Ellie mentioned to Alan that she thought she had a crush on him, it was
somewhere around the 75-minute mark and it seemed to come out of nowhere. Was
the fact that Rachel Clift delivered her lines with the same "You
dweeb!" embarrassed frown in scenes with both Lawrence and Alan supposed to
be, um, foreshadowing? It also didn't seem quite normal that Lawrence just
analyzes what happened between Ellie and Alan, interrupting his analysis at one
point to offer Ellie a cup of tea from his extensive collection. Shouldn't there
be more signs of anger or jealousy here? It's only, um, natural.

You'll also find that handshakes are as much of a recurring theme as
"um." Alan's getting introduced to people a lot, but it's also the
goodbye he gives Ellie after their night together.

The movie has some moments of real humor that would be hard to capture in a
Hollywood film, such as when Ellie wants to know all about Sara's kissing
("Were you complicit?") and Alan's feelings about it, or when Alan
clenches a fist and Lawrence hides behind Ellie, who dispassionately tells him,
"I ain't your bodyguard." These scenes do play out like funny moments
among real friends. I also felt I was genuinely watching people who were just
starting out, full of ambition despite financial limitations and the need to
prove themselves.

Mutual Appreciation was shot in black-and-white on 16 mm film. There
are some grainy spots, though not as many as you'd think; the natural lighting
leads to some dark or washed-out scenes. The movie looks decent for what seems
to be an ultra-low budget, with a quick-cut mix of angles that keeps it visually
interesting. The sound's all ambient, with music coming from tapes or Alan's
actual performance; since the protagonist's a musician, this doesn't seem
glaring until the silent final credits. I watched a screener disc, but it seemed
representative of the final product.

The commentary features parents of the cast and crew commenting on the
movie. They're not all favorable, with comments like "For the audience, a
little sexual chemistry is worth something," "There's no excitement,
no content, no plot," and "I can't figure the point of the whole
thing." This part, along with the trailers devoted to telling you how many
good reviews (The New York Times calls Bujalski a "veritable
sculptor of dead air") and awards the little film has recieved, seems aimed
at intimidating you into liking it. After all, excitement, content, and plot are
fuddy-duddy concepts that your parents would expect. You're cool, so "a
delicious honesty" should be enough, right?

There's also a short, "Peoples House," which follows Walter and
Alan's Dad around the house. It's more of the same, but in color.

Overall, the movie feels like an evening hanging out with friends shooting
the breeze, a simile that's especially apt since Bujalski tapped his pool of
young creative friends for his cast and crew. It captures the atmosphere well
enough, but watching Alan, Lawrence, and Ellie hang out isn't as much fun as,
um, actually hanging out with friends shooting the breeze.

As a "romantic" film, this, um, goes nowhere—slowly. As a
character study of the nervous Alan and an essay on, um, awkwardness, Mutual
Appreciation works better, but Bujalski could stand to sharpen his pacing
more and develop his ideas further. His "Someone to Watch" award at
the 2004 Independent Spirit Awards was deserved—you'll be hearing more
from this guy someday—but this movie is still a rough draft.

Guilty or not guilty? Well, um, I, er—uh. Let's put it this way:
Andrew Bujalski's a talented filmmaker who accomplished what he set out to do.
The movie had a few good moments, but I wouldn't want to watch it again.

It's a promising introduction to a fresh young talent. However, movie
realism usually tends to be a sort of hyperrealism that's paced better than real
life. While approximating real conversations is honest and real, it's not always
exciting. Thus most viewers will want to wait until Bujalski sells out and pairs
his honesty and realism with excitement, content, and plot, not to mention a
little less dead air. Better put this fresh young talent on probation.